Set-Top Box With Enhanced Features and System and Method for Use of Same

ABSTRACT

A set-top box with enhanced features and system and method for use of the same are disclosed. In one embodiment of the set-top box, the set-top box is deployed to provide an interactive portal in a hospitality establishment having multiple rooms, such as a hotel. The set-top box generates a default interactive portal as well as a guest-specific interactive portal, which is generated from a guest configuration profile having information including guest identification, a guest channel preference presentation, and a guest service preference presentation with guest account information. The guest configuration profile may also enable the creation of a local area wireless network with substantially the same behavior as the guest&#39;s home wireless network. The guest configuration profile may further enable the control of in-room amenities, such as temperature control, lighting, shades, and availability, for example.

PRIORITY STATEMENT & CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/524,893 entitled “Set-Top Box with Enhanced Features andSystem and Method for Use of Same” and filed on Jul. 29, 2019, whichissued on Jan. 5, 2021 in the names of Thomas R. Miller et al., now U.S.Pat. No. 10,887,627; which claims priority from U.S. Patent ApplicationNo. 62/711,129 entitled “Set-Top Box with Enhanced Features and Systemand Method for Use of Same” and filed on Jul. 27, 2018, in the names ofVanessa Ogle et al.; both of which are hereby incorporated by referencefor all purposes. application Ser. No. 16/524,893 is also acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/365,444,entitled “Set-Top Box with Interactive Portal and System and Method forUse of Same” and filed Mar. 26, 2019, in the names of Vanessa Ogle etal.; which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/860,509, entitled “Set-Top Box with Interactive Portal and System andMethod for Use of Same” and filed on Jan. 2, 2018, in the names ofVanessa Ogle et al., now U.S. Pat. No. 10,244,269, and issued on Mar.26, 2019; which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/847,247, entitled “Set-Top Box with Interactive Portal and System andMethod for Use of Same” and filed on Dec. 19, 2017, in the names ofVanessa Ogle et al., now U.S. Pat. No. 10,142,663, and issued on Nov.27, 2018; which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/625,416, entitled “Set-top Box with Interactive Portal and System andMethod for Use of Same” and filed on Jun. 16, 2017 in the names ofVanessa Ogle et al., now U.S. Pat. No. 9,848,211, and issued on Dec. 19,2017; which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/203,515, entitled “Set-top Box with Interactive Portal and System andMethod for Use of Same” and filed on Jul. 6, 2016 in the names ofVanessa Ogle et al., now U.S. Pat. No. 9,716,902, and issued on Jul. 25,2017; which claims priority from co-pending U.S. Patent Application Ser.No. 62/188,976, entitled “Set-top Box with Interactive Portal and Systemand Method for Use of Same” and filed on Jul. 6, 2015 in the names ofVanessa Ogle et al.; which are hereby incorporated by reference for allpurposes herein. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/203,515, entitled“Set-top Box with Interactive Portal and System and Method for Use ofSame” and filed on Jul. 6, 2016, in the names of Vanessa Ogle et al., isalso a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/803,428, entitled “Set-Top Box with Interactive Portal and System andMethod for Use of Same” and filed on Jul. 20, 2015, in the names ofVanessa Ogle et al., and issued on Apr. 26, 2016, as U.S. Pat. No.9,326,009; which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/294,123, entitled “Set-top Box with Interactive Portal and System andMethod for Use of Same” and filed on Jun. 2, 2014, in the names ofVanessa Ogle et al., and issued on Jul. 21, 2015 as U.S. Pat. No.9,088,828; which claims priority from U.S. Patent Application Ser. No.61/829,932, entitled “On-Screen Display” and filed on May 31, 2013, inthe name of Vanessa Ogle; all of which are hereby incorporated byreference, in entirety, for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates, in general, to set-top boxes and, in particular,to set-top boxes with interactive portals and systems and methods foruse of the same that provide additional functionality to the hospitalitylodging industry, as an example.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Without limiting the scope of the present invention, the background willbe described in relation to the use of smart devices in the hospitalitylodging industry, as an example. Making a hotel “a home away from home”is a goal of many hoteliers in the hospitality lodging industry. Hotelsare providing more amenities and conveniences than ever for the comfortof patrons in order to offer superior advantages for guests.Traditionally, amenities and conveniences focused on the quality of theroom, in-room entertainment, food and beverage service, on-premiseamenities such as gyms and spas, and concierge service. With theexplosion of the internet, smartphones, and other smart devices, theusability and ease of use of these smart devices at hospitality lodgingestablishments has become a necessary amenity and convenience.Accordingly, there is a need for improved systems and methods thatensure amenities that provide for the use of smart devices in ahospitality lodging establishment, while providing the convenience andintegration into existing and planned hospitality lodgingestablishments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It would be advantageous to introduce systems and methods that furtherensure amenities that provide for the use of proximate wireless-enabledinteractive programmable devices in a hospitality lodging establishment.It would also be desirable to enable a computer-based solution thatwould augment the convenience and integration of a guest-customizedexperience into existing and planned hospitality lodging establishments.To better address one or more of these concerns, a set-top box with aninteractive portal and system and method for use of the same aredisclosed. In one embodiment of the set-top box, the set-top box isdeployed to provide an interactive portal in a hospitality establishmenthaving multiple rooms, such as a hotel.

The set-top box is associated with a room and includes a housing thatsecures a television input, a television output, a processor, atransceiver, and memory therein in an interconnected bus architecture.The set-top box generates a default interactive portal as well as aguest-specific interactive portal, which is generated from a guestconfiguration profile having information including guest identification,a guest channel preference presentation, and a guest service preferencepresentation with guest account information. In response to receivingthe guest configuration profile, a local area wireless network for aguest device may be activated to a network associated with thehospitality establishment. The local area wireless network may havesubstantially identical behavior to a home wireless network belonging tothe guest such that the local area wireless network providessubstantially identical network configuration and device, application,and service login credentials as the home wireless network. The guestconfiguration profile may further enable the control of in-roomamenities such as temperature control, lighting, shades, andavailability, for example, with preferred, guest-specific settings. Inanother embodiment, a system deploys the set-top boxes in roomsthroughout the lodging establishment to provide both a default and theconvenience of a guest-specific interactive portal in each room. Theseand other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidatedwith reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the features and advantages of thepresent invention, reference is now made to the detailed description ofthe invention along with the accompanying figures in which correspondingnumerals in the different figures refer to corresponding parts and inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram depicting one embodiment of a system forproviding a set-top box having a guest configuration profile thereonaccording to the teachings presented herein;

FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram depicting one embodiment of the system ofFIG. 1 within a cloud-computing deployment;

FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram depicting one embodiment of the system ofFIG. 1 within an on-property deployment;

FIG. 2C is a schematic diagram depicting one embodiment of the system ofFIG. 1 within a cloud-computing deployment serving multiple properties;

FIG. 3A is a front elevation view of one embodiment of a set-top boxdepicted in FIG. 1 in further detail;

FIG. 3B is a rear elevation view of the set-top box depicted in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3C is a front perspective view of a dongle depicted in FIG. 1 infurther detail;

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram depicting one embodiment of theset-top box presented in FIGS. 3A and 3B;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram depicting one embodiment of the structureand functionality of the system depicted in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram depicting one embodiment of the structureand function of the guest configuration profile depicted in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 7 is a flow chart depicting one embodiment of a method forproviding a set-top box having a guest configuration profile thereonaccording to the teachings presented herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While the making and using of various embodiments of the presentinvention are discussed in detail below, it should be appreciated thatthe present invention provides many applicable inventive concepts, whichcan be embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specificembodiments discussed herein are merely illustrative of specific ways tomake and use the invention, and do not delimit the scope of the presentinvention.

Referring initially to FIG. 1, therein is depicted one embodiment of asystem 10 utilizing set-top boxes 12 with guest-specific interactiveportals being employed within a hospitality lodging establishment H. Thehospitality lodging establishment or more generally, hospitalityproperty, may be a furnished multi-family residence, dormitory, lodgingestablishment, hotel, hospital, or other multi-unit environment. Asshown, by way of example and not by way of limitation, the hospitalityenvironment is depicted as the hotel H having various rooms, includingroom R. It should be appreciated, however, the teachings presentedherein are not limited to hospitality lodging establishments orhospitality properties.

The set-top boxes 12 are communicatively disposed with variousamenities, including a display 14, associated with the hospitalityenvironment, which as mentioned is depicted as the hotel H. The set-topboxes 12 may be deployed throughout the rooms R of the hotel H as wellas common spaces. As shown, in one embodiment, within a room R, thesystem 10 includes the set-top box 12 and the display 14 illustrated astelevision having a screen 16. It should be appreciated however, thatthe display 12 may be any electronic visual display device or televisionset, for example. The set-top box 12 includes a housing 18 and aconnection, which is depicted as an HDMI connection 20, connects theset-top box 12 to the display 14. Other connections include a powercable 22 coupling the set-top box 12 to a power source, a coaxial cable24 coupling the set-top box 12 to external cable source, and a categoryfive (Cat 5) cable 26 coupling the set-top box 12 to an externalpay-per-view source at a hotel or other lodging establishment, forexample. As shown, the set-top box 12 may include a dongle 30 providingparticular technology and functionality extensions thereto. That is, theset-top box may be a set-top box-dongle combination in one embodiment.More generally, it should be appreciated that the cabling connected tothe set-top box 12 will depend on the environment and application, andthe cabling connections presented in FIG. 1 are depicted forillustrative purposes. Further, it should be appreciated that thepositioning of the set-top box 12 will vary depending on environment andapplication and, with certain functionality, the set-top box 12 may beplaced more discretely behind the display 14 or mounted, partially orcompletely, within a wall of the room R, for example.

A television remote control 32 includes an array of buttons foradjusting various settings such as television channel and volume. In oneembodiment, the television remote control 32 may be a consumer infrared(IR) or other protocol, such as Bluetooth, device configured as a smallwireless handheld object that issues commands from a distance to theset-top box 12 in order to control the display 14 via the set-top box12, for example. A proximate wireless-enabled interactive programmabledevice 34 may be a wireless-enabled interactive handheld device that maybe supplied or carried by the guest and may be selected from a range ofexisting devices, such as, for example personal computers (such aspersonal computer 36), laptops, tablet computers, smart phones (such assmart phone 38), smart speakers, and smart watches, for example. As willbe discussed in further detail below, in one implementation, anapplication installed from a server enables the set-top box 12 and theproximate wireless-enabled interactive programmable device 34 to bewirelessly paired. In another embodiment, a challenge-response isutilized to wirelessly pair the set-top box 12 and the proximatewireless-enabled interactive programmable device 34. The set-top box 12may communicate wirelessly, as indicated by wireless signaling W, withthe various proximate wireless-enabled interactive programmable devices34.

The set-top box 12 may also communicate wirelessly, as indicated bywireless signaling W, with various amenities 40, which are depicted asin-room environmental amenities, within an environment of the room R. Asshown, the amenities may include lighting 44, a thermostat 42representing temperature control, window shades 46, and security 48,which is depicted as a door indication for “Please Do Not Disturb.” Theset-top box 12 may also enable various services 50, which are depictedas in-room and on-premises hospitality services, including turndownservice 52, towel service 54, and spa scheduling 56, and room service58.

As shown, a default interactive portal 60 is displayed on the screen 16,unless a guest configuration profile 62 is loaded within the set-top box12. The guest configuration profile 62 may be loaded from theoperations, e.g., the front desk or hotel headend, by use of the remotecontrol 32, or by a proximate device, such as the proximatewireless-enabled interactive programmable device 34. In oneimplementation, as illustrated, the set-top box 12 extends a physicalauthorization interface, shown as area A, from the set-top box to anarea easily accessible to transitory guests' convenience such as infront or side of the television 12. This physical authorizationinterface A may include a short range wireless data connection that isenabled only when very close physically to the proximatewireless-enabled interactive programmable device 34, for example.Further, once the pairing is established, the set-top box 12 provides asecure wireless interface to communicate transitory guest user deviceauthorization information to the set-top box 12 to accomplishverification. Once authorization information is communicated to theset-top box, the set-top box enables the guest configuration profile 62.

Enabled, the guest configuration profile 62 provides a customizedset-top box experience. More particularly, the guest configurationprofile 62 includes guest identification, a guest channel preferencepresentation, and a guest service preference presentation with guestaccount information. The guest configuration profile 62 may be aguest-specific, guest-customized set-top box generated environmentreferencing an explicit digital representation of a guest's identity.The set-top box 12 generates a guest interactive portal 64 including aguest indication acknowledgement 66, a guest channel preferencepresentation 68, and a guest service preference presentation 70, whichincludes premium programming, game, and music content, for example.Further, personal area network and local area network connectivity isprovided to the proximate wireless-enabled interactive programmabledevice 34.

The set-top box 12, with use of the guest configuration profile 62, mayalso control the amenities 40, such as the lighting 44, thermostat 42,window shades 46, and security 48. Such room automation provides forsmart controls such as setting the lighting 44 or thermostat 42 orwindow shades 46 to the preferred setting before the guest walks intothe room. Based on the control settings, the amenities 40 themselvesreact to scenarios accordingly. In one implementation, automatedlighting may be activated at a certain time, or climate controls mayshift temperature at various intervals. In this respect, smart amenityautomation places a portion of the onus of decision making on theamenities 40. Therefore, instead of manually controlling settings,guests set parameters or parameters are established based on acomparable home amenity belonging to the guest or based on amenitybehavior from a previous stay. As conditions are met, the amenitiesautomatically adjust according to the parameters. By way of example, aspreviously alluded, lighting 44 may turn on when a guest walks in theroom or your window shades 46 raise up when a specified level ofsunlight hits the window, or lowering the temperature when you arriveand raising the temperature when you leave.

Referring now to FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, and FIG. 2C, a server 80 may beremotely located to serve multiple set-top boxes and displays eachlocated on different properties. It should also be appreciated that theserver 80 may be located on a single property to serve one or moreset-top boxes and displays thereon. Further, it should be appreciatedthat the server 80 may be remotely located to serve multiple propertieshaving multiple televisions.

Referring now to FIG. 2A, the system 10 may be deployed such that theserver 80, which includes a housing 82, is remotely located in the cloudC to service disbursed set-top boxes 12-1 . . . 12-n and correspondingdisplays 14-1 . . . 14-n, with, in one embodiment, network programmingcontent sources 84 configured to provide sources of network programmingand content. The server 80 includes the housing 82 having a signaloutput and other components therein. The server 80 has access to guestconfiguration profile database 86, which stores the aforementioned guestconfiguration profile database 86. In addition to providing access toguest configuration profile database 86 by the set-top boxes 12, theserver 80 may receive data from the set-top boxes 12, including guestinteraction data, which will be discussed in further detail hereinbelow.In one implementation, the guest interaction data may be stored at theguest configuration profile database 86.

Referring now to FIG. 2B, the system 10 may be deployed such that theserver 80, which includes the housing 82, is co-located on the propertyP-1 with the set-top boxes 12-1 . . . 12-n and the correspondingdisplays 14-1 . . . 14-n, with, in one embodiment, the networkprogramming content sources 84 configured to provide sources of networkprogramming and content. The property P-1 may have various rooms R andspaces S where the set-top boxes 12-1 . . . 12-n and the correspondingdisplays 14-1 . . . 14-n are displayed. The server 80 has access to theguest configuration profile database 86, which stores the aforementionedguest configuration profile database 86.

Referring to FIG. 2C, the system 10 may be deployed such that the server80 is located remotely within cloud C relative to set-top boxes 12-1 . .. 12-n, which are located at properties P-1 through P-n. Each propertyP-1 . . . P-n has various rooms R and spaces S. In particular, theserver 80, which receives content from network programming contentsources 84 and guest configuration profiles from the guest configurationprofile database 86, may be located remotely relative to the set-topboxes 12-1 . . . 12-n and displays 14-1 . . . 14-n such that a propertyheadend 88-1 . . . 88-n is interposed between the server 80 and theset-top boxes 12-1 . . . 12-n. As shown, in this implementation, theservers 88-1 . . . 88-n, which may be property headends, are co-locatedwith the set-top boxes 12-1 . . . 12-n at a respective property, P-1through P-n.

Referring to FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B, FIG. 3C, and FIG. 4, as used herein,set-top boxes, back boxes and set-top/back boxes may be discussed asset-top boxes. By way of example, the set-top box 12 may be a set-topunit that is an information appliance device that generally containsset-top box functionality including having a television-tuner input anddisplays output through a connection to a display or television set andan external source of signal, turning by way of tuning the source signalinto content in a form that can then be displayed on the televisionscreen or other display device. Such set-top boxes are used in cabletelevision, satellite television, and over-the-air television systems,for example.

The set-top box 12 includes a housing 18 having a rear wall 102, frontwall 104, top wall 106, bottom base 108, and two sidewalls 110, 112. Itshould be appreciated that front wall, rear wall, and side wall arerelative terms used for descriptive purposes and the orientation and thenomenclature of the walls may vary depending on application. The frontwall includes various ports, ports 114, 116, 118, 120, 122, 124, 126,128, and 130 that provide interfaces for various interfaces, includinginputs and outputs. In one implementation, as illustrated, the ports 114through 130 include inputs 132 and outputs 134 and, more particularly,an RF input 136, a RJ45 input 138, universal serial bus (USB)input/outputs 140, an Ethernet category 5 (Cat 5) coupling 142, aninternal reset 144, an RS232 control 146, an audio out 148, an audio in150, and a debug/maintenance port 152. The front wall 104 also includesvarious inputs 132 and outputs 134. More particularly, ports 160, 162,164, and 166 include a 5V dc power connection 170, USB inputs/outputs172, an RJ-45 coupling 174, and an HDMI port 176. It should beappreciated that the configuration of ports may vary with the set-topbox depending on application and context. As previously alluded to, thehousing 18 may include a housing-dongle combination including, withrespect to the dongle 30, a unit 180 having a cable 184 with a set-topbox connector 182 for selectively coupling with the set-top box 12.

Within the housing 18, a processor 200, memory 202, storage 204, theinputs 132, and the outputs 134 are interconnected by a bus architecture206 within a mounting architecture. The processor 200 may processinstructions for execution within the computing device, includinginstructions stored in the memory 202 or in storage 204. The memory 202stores information within the computing device. In one implementation,the memory 202 is a volatile memory unit or units. In anotherimplementation, the memory 202 is a non-volatile memory unit or units.Storage 204 provides capacity that is capable of providing mass storagefor the set-top box 12. Various inputs 132 and outputs 134 provideconnections to and from the computing device, wherein the inputs 132 arethe signals or data received by the set-top box 12, and the outputs 134are the signals or data sent from the set-top box 12.

A television content signal input 208 and a television content signaloutput 210 are also secured in the housing 18 in order to receivecontent from a source in the hospitality property and forward thecontent, including external content such as cable and satellite andpay-per-view (PPV) programing, to the television located within thehotel room.

A transceiver 212 is associated with the set-top box 12 andcommunicatively disposed with the bus 206. As shown the transceiver 212may be internal, external, or a combination thereof to the housing.Further, the transceiver 212 may be a transmitter/receiver, receiver, oran antenna for example. Communication between various amenities in thehotel room and the set-top box 12 may be enabled by a variety ofwireless methodologies employed by the transceiver 212, including802.11, 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, 3G, 4G, Edge, WiFi, ZigBee, near fieldcommunications (NFC), Bluetooth low energy and Bluetooth, for example.Also, infrared (IR) may be utilized.

The memory 202 and storage 204 are accessible to the processor 200 andinclude processor-executable instructions that, when executed, cause theprocessor 200 to execute a series of operations. Theprocessor-executable instructions receive a guest configuration profile62, which as previously discussed may include guest identification, aguest channel preference presentation 68, and a guest service preferencepresentation 70 with guest account information. Also, as previouslydiscussed, the guest configuration profile is a guest-specific,guest-customized set-top box generated environment referencing anexplicit digital representation of a guest's identity.

In response to receiving the guest configuration profile 62 at theset-top box 12, the processor-executable instructions cause theprocessor 200 to temporarily override the default profile and generate aguest interactive portal 64 including a guest indication acknowledgement66, the guest channel preference presentation 68, and the guest servicepreference presentation 70. Further, in response to receiving the guestconfiguration profile 62, the processor-executable instructions causethe processor 200 to activate a local area wireless connection for aguest device, such as the proximate wireless-enabled interactiveprogrammable device 34, to a network associated with the hospitalityestablishment H. Alternatively, in response to a default profile, theprocessor-executable instructions cause the processor 200 to generate adefault interactive portal prior to forwarding one of the guestinteractive portal 64 and the default interactive portal 60, asappropriate, to the television via the television output. Inimplementations with multiple set-top boxes disposed in respectivemultiple rooms, at least one of the set-top boxes will generate a guestinteractive portal 64 and at least one of the plurality of set-top boxeswill potentially generate a default interactive portal 60.

In response to receiving the guest configuration profile at the set-topbox 12, the processor-executable instructions cause the processor 200 tocontrol an in-room amenity based on the guest configuration profile 62.The control of the in-room amenity may include providing a setting tothe in-room amenity, such as a lighting setting to a lighting controlpanel, a temperature setting to a temperature control unit, a shadesetting to a shade control unit or a do not disturb setting to a doorcontrol unit, for example. The memory 202 may also includeprocessor-executable instructions that, when executed, cause theprocessor 200 to monitor guest interaction with the in-room amenity andrecord guest interaction data relative to the guest interaction with thein-room amenity. The processor-executable instructions may then, whenexecuted, cause the processor 200 to transmit the guest interaction datato a server. Thereafter, the guest amenity profile of the guestconfiguration profile 62 may be refined based on the guest interactiondata.

Referring now to FIG. 5, at a guest's home L, a wireless access point220 provides the networking hardware device, such as a router, thatallows Wi-Fi compliant devices to connect to a wired network by way of aprivate wireless network, which is illustrated as home wireless network222. The home wireless network 222 has a network configuration 224,which provides the network management protocol and mechanisms toinstall, manipulate, and delete the configuration of various networkdevices. Such a network configuration 224 may also include a networkidentification, which is shown as a Service Set Identifier (SSID) 226.In one implementation, the SSID may be a series of 0 to 32 octets thatis used as an identifier for the wireless Local Area Network (LAN) andis intended to be unique for the particular home wireless network 222.Various login credentials 228 are also associated with the home wirelessnetwork 222. The login credentials 228 may include user names andpasswords that permit various devices 230, applications 232, andservices 234 to operate over the home wireless network 222. The devices230 may include the proximate wireless-enabled interactive programmabledevice 34, for example. The applications 232 may include a computerprogram designed to perform a group of coordinated functions, tasks, oractivities operating on the devices 230 for the benefit of the user,which in this instance may be the guest. The services 234, which areshown as data services, may include various subscription ornon-subscription services that provide access to streaming or archivedcontent, such as literature, music, television, and movies, for example.The services 234 may be enabled by the devices 230. It should beappreciated that overlap between the devices 230, the applications 232,and the services 234 may exist.

The home wireless network 222 permits users' or guests' devices 230,applications 232, and services 234 to work seamlessly at the home Lwithout the need for continuous new configuration. The aforementionedguest configuration profile 62 associated with the set-top box 12 withinthe room R of the hotel H configures a guest private wireless network250 that acts as an access point having the same network configuration224, SSID 226, and login credentials 228 for the devices 230, theapplications 232, and the services 234. This creates a home away fromhome environment for the guest, where all of the guest carry devices230, applications 232, and services 234, including streaming movieservices, work within the room R as the guest carry devices 230,applications 232, and services 234 work at the home wireless network 222at the home L. In one embodiment, the guest configuration profile 62provides the guest private wireless network 250 with substantiallyidentical behavior as the home wireless network 222. Therefore, no newconfiguration is required at the room R. In one implementation, theguest configuration profile 62 may access the information and datanecessary to provision the guest private wireless network 250 from theserver 80, which may be located offsite or within a cloud C, forexample, or the server 88, which may be located on-site, for example. Inoperation, in response to receiving the guest configuration profile 62,a local area wireless network may be activated for a guest device to anetwork associated with the hospitality establishment H. The local areawireless network may have substantially identical behavior to a homewireless network belonging to the guest such that the local areawireless network provides substantially identical network configurationand device, application, and service login credentials as the homewireless network. In particular, the guest configuration profile 62 mayenable the creation of a local area wireless network with substantiallythe same behavior as the guest's home wireless network. As previouslyalluded, the guest configuration profile 62 not only establishes theguest private wireless network 250, but may also provision room-specificguest preferred features such as room temperature, television lineup,and other amenity preferences.

With respect to various in-room amenities, such as a thermostat 42,lighting 44, window shades 46, and security 48, the guest configurationprofile 62 establishes controls, including programming and preferences,based on, for example, the amenities 240 at the home L. By way ofexample and not by way of limitation, the control of the thermostat 242at the home L informs the guest configuration profile 62, which controlsthe temperature at the room R within the hotel H. Similarly, the controlof the lighting 244 at the home L informs the guest configurationprofile 62, which controls the lighting 44 at the room R within thehotel H to provide substantially identical behavior.

Referring now to FIG. 6, the guest configuration profile 62 includes aguest amenity profile 260 which establishes controls, includingprogramming and preferences, for the various in-room amenities 40,including, for example, lighting 44, a thermostat 42, window shades 46,and security 48. The guest configuration profile 62 is based on, forexample, the use of amenities at the home L, previous lodgingestablishment stays as represented by properties P₁, P₂, . . . P_(n).Additionally, the guest configuration profile 62 may provide the in-roomamenity 40 control based on time and location factors 262, such as timeof day, weather, season, location in the hotel, and location of a room.An individual I, such as the guest, may also influence the guestconfiguration profile 62. As the in-room amenities 40 are utilized,guest interaction data 264 is generated, which may be employed tofurther refine the guest amenity profile 260 of the guest configurationprofile 62.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a method for using a set-top box with enhancedfeatures and an interactive portal is shown. At block 270, multipleset-top boxes are disposed in a respective number of rooms within alodging establishment. At decision block 272, if a guest configurationprofile is not available then the methodology advances to block 274where a standard gateway and interactive experience is provided beforethe method returns to start. Standard channel preferences (block 276),standard services (block 278), standard network or WiFi service (block280), standard room amenities (block 282), and a standard hotelexperience (block 284) are provided along with the aforementionedstandard gateway.

With reference to decision block 272, on the other hand, if a guestconfiguration profile is available, then the process advances todecision block 286 where the guest configuration profile is installedfrom the appropriate source. At block 288, installation is provided fromhotel operations, such as a front desk or hotel headend. At block 290,the remote control in the room may provide the guest configurationprofile. As a third alternative, at block 292, a proximatewireless-enabled interactive programmable device may be further verifiedat block 294 and provide the guest configuration profile.

Following blocks 288, 290, 292 and 294, the methodology continues toblock 296, wherein a customized interactive portal is built based on theguest configuration profile. The customized interactive portal mayinclude the guest's name or similar information. Continuing with blocks298, 302, 304, and 306, the methodology customizes the channelpreferences, channel services, local area network connectivity, e.g.,WiFi, for devices, customizes room amenities, and customizes the hotelexperience in accordance with the guest configuration profile.

That is, in one implementation, following this methodology, variousguest devices, such as the aforementioned proximate wireless-enabledinteractive programmable devices and personal computers, may beregistered and associated with the set-top box for the purpose ofjoining personal area networks or local area networks to enable variousservices on that network requiring authorization. Further, that is, inone implementation, following this methodology, various in-roomamenities, such as the aforementioned temperature and lighting, may beautomatically controlled and programmed for the enjoyment of the user,such as the guest.

The order of execution or performance of the methods and data flowsillustrated and described herein is not essential, unless otherwisespecified. That is, elements of the methods and data flows may beperformed in any order, unless otherwise specified, and that the methodsmay include more or less elements than those disclosed herein. Forexample, it is contemplated that executing or performing a particularelement before, contemporaneously with, or after another element are allpossible sequences of execution.

While this invention has been described with reference to illustrativeembodiments, this description is not intended to be construed in alimiting sense. Various modifications and combinations of theillustrative embodiments as well as other embodiments of the invention,will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to thedescription. It is, therefore, intended that the appended claimsencompass any such modifications or embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for configuring a guest experience in ahospitality establishment, the system comprising: a set-top box disposedin a room, the set-top box programmably assigned to the room, theset-top box comprising: a housing securing a signal input, a signaloutput, a transceiver, a processor, and memory therein; a busingarchitecture communicatively interconnecting the signal input, thesignal output, the transceiver, the processor, and the memorytherebetween; the signal input configured to receive a source signalfrom an external source, the source signal including a plurality ofchannels; the signal output configured to forward a tuned signal to adisplay in the room, the signal being tuned from the source signal atthe set-top box; and the memory accessible to the processor, the memoryincluding processor-executable instructions that, when executed, causethe processor to: receive a guest configuration profile, in response toreceiving the guest configuration profile, activate a local areawireless network, the local area wireless network having identicalbehavior to a home wireless network belonging to the guest, the localarea wireless network providing identical network configuration anddevice login credentials as the home wireless network, and in responseto receiving the guest configuration profile, control an in-room amenitybased on the guest configuration profile; the guest configurationprofile configuring the local area wireless network to be a guestprivate wireless network that acts as an access point having the samenetwork configuration and login credentials for devices as the homewireless network belonging to the guest, thereby creating a home awayfrom home environment for the guest with provisioning for room-specificguest preferred features; the guest configuration profile requiring nonew room configuration, the guest configuration profile accessing neededinformation and data to provision the guest wireless network from one ofa co-located server and a cloud-located server; and the guestconfiguration profile controlling the in-room amenity based on a guestamenity profile derived from at least one of a home amenity belonging tothe guest, a previous stay amenity relative to the guest, time of day,and season.
 2. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the in-roomamenity is selected from the group consisting of lighting, temperaturecontrol, window shades, and guest availability.
 3. The system as recitedin claim 1, wherein the home amenity belonging to the guest is selectedfrom the group consisting of lighting, temperature control, windowshades, and guest availability.
 4. The system as recited in claim 1,wherein the previous stay amenity is selected from the group consistingof lighting, temperature control, window shades, and guest availability.5. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the in-room amenitycomprises an identical functionality to the home amenity.
 6. The systemas recited in claim 1, wherein the in-room amenity comprises anidentical functionality to the previous stay amenity.
 7. The system asrecited in claim 1, wherein the guest configuration profile furthercontrols the in-room amenity based on a location of the hospitalityestablishment.
 8. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the guestconfiguration profile further controls the in-room amenity based on alocation of the room in the hospitality establishment.
 9. The system asrecited in claim 1, wherein the guest configuration profile control ofthe in-room amenity further comprises providing a setting to the in-roomamenity.
 10. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the guestconfiguration profile control of the in-room amenity further comprisesproviding a lighting setting to a lighting control panel.
 11. The systemas recited in claim 1, wherein the guest configuration profile controlof the in-room amenity further comprises providing a temperature settingto a temperature control unit.
 12. The system as recited in claim 1,wherein the guest configuration profile control of the in-room amenityfurther comprises providing a shade setting to a shade control unit. 13.The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the guest configurationprofile control of the in-room amenity further comprises providing a donot disturb setting to a door control unit.
 14. The system as recited inclaim 1, wherein the memory further comprises processor-executableinstructions that, when executed, cause the processor to: monitor guestinteraction with the in-room amenity; and record guest interaction datarelative to the guest interaction with the in-room amenity.
 15. Thesystem as recited in claim 14, wherein the memory further comprisesprocessor-executable instructions that, when executed, cause theprocessor to transmit the guest interaction data to a server.
 16. Thesystem as recited in claim 14, wherein the guest amenity profile of theguest configuration profile is refined based on the guest interactiondata.
 17. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the transceiverutilizes wireless signals selected from the group of wireless protocolsconsisting of 802.11, 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, 3G, 4G, Edge, WiFi, ZigBee,near field communications (NFC), Bluetooth, and infrared (IR).
 18. Thesystem as recited in claim 1, wherein the memory includesprocessor-executable instructions that, when executed, cause theprocessor to receive the guest configuration profile via the signalinput.
 19. A system for configuring a guest experience in a hospitalityestablishment, the system comprising: a set-top box disposed in a room,the set-top box programmably assigned to the room, the set-top boxcomprising: a housing securing a signal input, a signal output, atransceiver, a processor, and memory therein; a busing architecturecommunicatively interconnecting the signal input, the signal output, thetransceiver, the processor, and the memory therebetween; the signalinput configured to receive a source signal from an external source, thesource signal including a plurality of channels; the signal outputconfigured to forward a tuned signal to a display in the room, thesignal being tuned from the source signal at the set-top box; and thememory accessible to the processor, the memory includingprocessor-executable instructions that, when executed, cause theprocessor to: receive a guest configuration profile, and in response toreceiving the guest configuration profile, control an in-room amenitybased on the guest configuration profile; and the guest configurationprofile controlling the in-room amenity based on a guest amenity profilederived from at least one of a home amenity belonging to the guest, aprevious stay amenity relative to the guest, time of day, and season.20. A system for configuring a guest experience in a hospitalityestablishment, the system comprising: a set-top box disposed in a room,the set-top box programmably assigned to the room, the set-top boxcomprising: a housing securing a signal input, a signal output, atransceiver, a processor, and memory therein; a busing architecturecommunicatively interconnecting the signal input, the signal output, thetransceiver, the processor, and the memory therebetween; the signalinput configured to receive a source signal from an external source, thesource signal including a plurality of channels; the signal outputconfigured to forward a tuned signal to a display in the room, thesignal being tuned from the source signal at the set-top box; and thememory accessible to the processor, the memory includingprocessor-executable instructions that, when executed, cause theprocessor to: receive a guest configuration profile, and in response toreceiving the guest configuration profile, control an in-room amenitybased on the guest configuration profile; the guest configurationprofile requiring no new room configuration, the guest configurationprofile accessing needed information and data from one of a co-locatedserver and a cloud-located server; and the guest configuration profilecontrolling the in-room amenity based on a guest amenity profile derivedfrom at least one of a home amenity belonging to the guest, a previousstay amenity relative to the guest, time of day, and season.